The Proposal
by Touch of Grey
Summary: House of M AU. Fun times with Prince William and Emperor Dorrek.


Dorrek VIII bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, trying (and failing) to appear calm. It had been almost a year since he had entered the Earth's orbit, and he simply could not wait any longer. His guard, Kl'rt the Super-Skrull, who'd been watching over him since birth and was now accompanying him in Princess Annelle's absence, cleared his throat.

"It will not be long now, Emperor, so please, try to show some patience."

It took all of Dorrek's will power not to groan in embarrassment. He'd been coming to Earth with his mother for many years now, even as an egg, and the sight of Genosha's royal gardens coming into view still filled him with a sense of excitement. But it was not their majestic splendor that he so anticipated; waiting a scant hundred feet below his ship was his Cherished One, a son of the House of Magnus, Prince William.

He and William had often played together as hatchlings, whenever his Cherished One's elder twin brother, Thomas, got into a bullying mood. They were good friends, and kept in touch even when they were galaxies apart. In fact, Dorrek's latest trip to Earth was for more than just renewing the Mutant/Skrull peace treaty, but to also attend William and Thomas' sixteenth birthday party. Dorrek fought with all his might to walk and not run to the door of his ship. Outside, members of the House of Magnus waited to greet him.

"Dorrek!"

The Skrull emperor's heart sang as William's elated voice rang through the air. Abandoning most of his expected poise, Dorrek quickened his stride as to reach William's side all the sooner.

"Your majesty," he greeted, upon reaching King Erik. The mutant ruler nodded curtly. Magneto's children, Wanda and Pietro, also nodded to him, but Dorrek paid them no mind. It was William he was there for, it had been William he'd been dreaming of seeing for almost a year.

"William." The dark-haired boy's smile was almost iridescent in the late afternoon light, and he threw thin arms around Dorrek's shoulders.

"It's so good to see you again, Dori. I've missed you so much!" Dorrek returned the embrace, having to stoop down a bit to properly reach William. Had he really grown that much? Not that it mattered; he thought as he buried his nose in William's hair, the bigger he was, the more likely King Erik was to accept his adjustment to the treaty.

***

"…and then Tommy accidentally blew up the Majesdanian delegate's peach cobbler, at least he _said_ it was an accident, and grandfather officially banned him from any and all intergalactic functions forever. Lucky." Dorrek laughed, and William smiled shyly. "Well, it means that he doesn't have to memorize fact printouts or wear those awful formal clothes with about a hundred too many buttons, so why shouldn't I envy him?"

"I've missed having you around, Billy. I've missed Earth. And I've missed these cheese cracker things. What did you call them again?" Billy grinned.

"Cheez-its."

"Best thing to ever come out of this entire quadrant. Well, except you, of course." The prince flushed, ducking his head.

"Oh, c'mon, Dori, I'm pretty sure that the caramel macchiato out places me a bit…" Dorrek shook his head, grasping William's chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"You know me better than that, Billy. I don't flatter people unnecessarily. Which leads me to ask, did you get my last telegram?" William's entire visible upper half went pink.

"Yeah, but, well…Dori, you couldn't have possibly meant what you wrote. I mean, I'm a-" Dorrek's eyes went hard.

"A what, Billy? A male? A human?. Do you honestly think that those things matter to me?" William nodded, and Dorrek's eyes softened slightly. "Billy, my father was a Kree, a sworn enemy of my mother's race, and yet here I am. If members of enemy races could love each other enough to create a child, why does it seem so strange that I could love you, a male of another race?" William spent several minutes in agonizing silence, wringing his hands and mentally wrestling with something. Finally, he sighed.

"Dorrek, it isn't that I'm surprised about you loving a guy, it's just…" his face went a deeper shade of red. "I'm surprised that you love me back."

There were about three seconds of utterly shocked silence, and then Dorrek reacted. Taking William's face in his hands, he gazed into his love's eyes.

"If you are joking, you have exactly two seconds to tell me."

"I wouldn't joke about something like this. That's Tommy's job."

"Oh, good."

In retrospect, any answer would probably have been better than, "Oh, good.", but hindsight is always 20/20. In the current moment, however, nothing else mattered to Dorrek than the feel of William's mouth on his own. And the clicking noise coming out of a nearby bush.

"_Waituntilmomseestheseyou'regonnabesodead,Billy!"_

William squeaked in undignified shock, shoving Dorrek away. "Tommy! You utter ass! Oh my god, he'll show those to mom and she'll get my uncle to _kill_ you and then we'll have started an intergalactic war…" Dorrek pressed a soft kiss onto William's cheek. "…but who cares? Bring it, I say."

And maybe, just maybe, if a certain overprotective Skrull guard hadn't snatched and crushed Prince Thomas' camera, intergalactic war would have been inevitable. But the day was still young, and there was one more thing that needed doing before Dorrek could feel at ease.

***

"This addition will only be fulfilled once we are both of standard Earth age of adulthood, and only with the consent of the intended in question, as well as your consent, Your Majesty."

King Erik held the revised treaty with shaking hands. "You wish to marry my grandson."

Dorrek nodded. "Earth history shows that a marriage is the most traditional way of formalizing a peace treaty. Also, I love William and never wish to be apart from him. There are still two years for you both to decide, however, I'd like to announce my intentions at his party tonight." Magneto massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment, then nodded.

"Do as you wish, Emperor Dorrek. However I must warn you: if I ever receive word that my grandson is being mistreated by your people, or is unhappy in any way, Earth will respond in kind."

"William's happiness has always been the most important thing to me, as long as I've known him. Your grandson is in good hands, King Erik."

***

The party had been a bit awkward at first, as Tommy had insisted on inviting his Sapien girlfriend, Nico, as well as several of his Sapien friends from New York, and her Sapien friends from California., but once everyone got over the major influx of humans, it was all smooth sailing.

Until Tommy attempted to drag out an ancient karaoke machine.

"_No_." Billy had said firmly. "I'm pretty sure that karaoke is Japanese for 'asshole with microphone'. Put it back."

"But Bill~lly!" Tommy had whined. "I'm bored! What if I took it, and all my friends, out into the gardens or something? Then we could have fun and you and your boyfriend could stay here with all the stuffy royals and political figures that somehow received invites to a party meant for teenagers!" Billy was about to respond, when the sound of someone tapping a glass with a fork cut through the air.

"Friends and honored guests," Princess Wanda began, beaming at her boys, "Today we are gathered to celebrate my sons, William and Thomas, turning 16. Before we have any of this lovely cake, my father, King Erik, has an announcement regarding the Mutant/Skrull peace treaty." she bowed her head respectfully.

"As you all may be aware, we of the House of Magnus have been drafting and redrafting a peace treaty with those of the Skrull race for the last decade, attempting to find something that will be mutually beneficial to both the mutants of Earth and the Skrulls across the galaxy. Tonight, Emperor Dorrek came to me with a strange, yet at the same time, very traditional request to officially set the treaty into motion. As it is not my place to voice his request, I will allow him to do so now." Dorrek bowed to King Erik, taking both of Billy's hands in his.

"William, we have known each other since childhood. We have always been excellent friends, and I care for you more than I have ever cared for any other. Earth history dictates that in order to truly set a peace treaty between foreign lands into action, a formalized union between royalty of the lands must take place, but this is not why I ask. I ask because I love you. William, will you marry me?"

Gasps were heard around the room, and Nico was even heard to cheer, "You _go_, Skrull!"

"Dorrek, I, we're so _young_." He was stalling, and Dorrek knew it.

"You have two years to make up your mind, Billy. For it would be illegal for us to marry before we are 18, here on Earth. I ask you to marry me, because I am so tired of only being able to see your face, to hear your voice, once a year. I would wish to take you back home, so that you may know my lands as well as I know yours. I would wish to never be apart from you, Billy."

Billy looked from his grandfather, whose expression was unreadable, to his mother, who had fainted and was being fanned by his uncle. He then looked back at Dorrek.

"I wouldn't live on Earth, but I'd be able to come back and visit every few months?" a large smile spread across Dorrek's face.

"Does that mean that you're saying..?"

"As long as I can return home from time to time, there is nothing I'd like more than to spend my life with you."

With that, Dorrek swept Billy into his arms, kissing him. Billy pulled away after a few seconds, embarrassed.

"Dori! My mom is only _right there_. I mean, she's unconscious, but she's still _right there_..."

"Don't care." Dorrek replied, burying his face in the crook of Billy's neck.

"Look, as adorable as this is, I think we've got a more pressing matter to attend to: karaoke. In the gardens. Five minutes from now. Let's goooooo!"

Dorrek looked up at his husband to be, and they both burst into laughter. Petty details like where the wedding would take place, who would be invited, and how they would get all of Billy's stuff to his new planet could be dealt with later. For now, they were both young, in love, and wholly prepared to have as much fun as they could.

Fini

I've been working on this story on and off since June of last year, and I can't tell you how glad I am that it's finally done with. Now drop me a review, so I know that all my 3 a.m. bedtimes were worth it.


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